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CINCINNATI — Billy Hamilton hit his first major-league home run and Chris Heisey made sure a
long, wet, miserable night ended happily for the Cincinnati Reds yesterday.

They outlasted the Chicago Cubs 3-2 before the few brave souls from the crowd of 17,579 at Great
American Ball Park in a game that was delayed three times for a total of 1 hour, 45 minutes. It
ended three minutes before midnight.

The victory snapped a three-game losing streak.

Heisey lined a pinch-hit single into left field to give the Reds a 3-2 lead just as the rain
went from steady to heavy, prompting the third delay. The run gave the Reds the lead just as the
game became official.

If play hadn’t resumed, the Reds would have been declared winners.

But they played on after a 1-hour, 11-minute delay. The game was delayed by rain for 19 minutes
at the start and for 15 minutes after the fourth inning.

With the forecast iffy for the rest of the night, the Reds came up with three big hits to come
back from a 2-1 deficit.

Hamilton homered in the fifth off Jeff Samardzija (0-3) to tie it. Zack Cozart tripled with two
outs in the sixth, and Heisey came up with the go-ahead hit.

Three relievers — Logan Ondrusek, Sam LeCure and Jonathan Broxton — held it there. Broxton
retired all three batters in the ninth for his fifth save in as many chances.

Alfredo Simon (4-1) had his worst start of the year — and it was still a quality start. He went
six innings and allowed two runs on five hits. He walked two and struck out five.

The Cubs have lost five of their past six games, but they got another solid — but winless —
performance from Samardzija, who has not gotten a victory in his past 12 starts since last Aug. 30.
The Cubs’ offense has produced little while he was on the mound — only 32 runs in that span.

Chapman close to rehab

Reds closer Aroldis Chapman threw 25 pitches during batting practice yesterday, passing the
final test before he can begin a rehabilitation stint in the minor leagues.

“It went very good,” Chapman said through a translator. “All my pitches were the way I
wanted."

Chapman might pitch at class-A Dayton on Thursday, his first time in a game since being hit on
the forehead by a line drive in spring training. He is hoping to be activated after four or five
rehab appearances.

No word on replay

General manager Walt Jocketty said he has yet to hear from Major League Baseball about why the
Reds’ replay challenge on Sunday wasn’t overturned.

Jocketty said he had been told by the league that there was only one available camera angle of
the play and there was no definitive view that showed Joey Votto tagging Atlanta’s B.J. Upton.